The Boy in the Painting
by TranscodeNightCat
Summary: Starting your first year at Hogwarts is always interesting, but when you come across a painting with a boy from years passed trapped inside, things become more interesting, especially when he's keeping secrets about how he got there. Now he wants the girl who found him to help him escape the painting by learning several complex spells and inadvertently, secrets from his past.
1. Chapter 1

Abigail finished tying off a pink ribbon in her short, black hair before grabbing her backpack and running out the door to school. Arriving at school, she saw everyone wearing the standard uniform. Girls wore white shirts and plaid skirts. Boys wore khaki pants, sweater vests, and ties. She walked to her classroom and found her seat. Having some free time, she opened her bag and pulled out her sketchbook. She grabbed her pencil and flipped through the pages until she found a blank one. She started doing a landscape scene for a garden drawing in various flowers and plants. Drawing was her escape from everything. Her parents never held anything against her, but every week they seemed to be fighting over something stupid. At first it scared her, but now it was annoying.

She closed her notebook hearing the bell ring. She pulled out her homework to turn in along with her notebook. The year was almost over, and Abigail was looking forward to her summer and next year where she would be going to into her secondary education; her current teacher always yelled at her for losing focus on the lesson which was becoming a bit annoying as she already knew the material. However, she managed to keep her head down and remain calm as she pretended to pay attention before going back to her own thoughts. The teacher walked by collecting homework. She snatched Abigail's from her hand and flipped it to the back. She frowned seeing a picture of three kittens that appeared to be playing cards. "Homework is not for drawing on, Abigail. I'm going to be taking away half of your points on this assignment."

"But that's not fair!"

"Young lady, this is not the first time that you have done this, and you're lucky that I haven't sent you to the headmaster for your disobedience. Now, sit down!" She walked back to her desk grabbing a red pen and marking up Abigail's paper very quickly before putting it in her desk drawer.

Abigail put her head down, scowling. "She can't do that. It's not fair." She started growing angrier as she glared at her teacher who walked over to the chalk board. "Now, today we are going to continue with our work on fractions." She pulled down the projector screen and gasped seeing a garden drawn on the once white screen.

It was the one Abigail had started drawing before class. "How did it get there?" She grabbed her notebook and flipped through the pages until she saw it.

She held them up for comparison until the teacher snatched the notebook from her. "It seems that we have our culprit right here. Abigail Richards, to the headmaster's office, now!" Abigail grabbed her bag and ran out of the room in tears.

Half an hour later, Abigail was sitting in the headmaster's office with her parents. The headmaster and her teacher were sitting across from them with Abigail's sketchbook in the middle. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" The headmaster asked.

"I didn't do it." Abigail repeated.

"Your sketchbook says otherwise." Her teacher glared at her.

"Look, we're very sorry about this. It will never happen again. She will be severely punished when we get home."

"But dad, I didn't do it."

"Abigail, hush. You are already in a lot of trouble. We are very sorry about this. If you'll excuse us, we'd like to take our daughter home for the day. Clearly she needs to think about what she's done."

"Agreed." Her teacher crossed her arms. The headmaster signed a form before Abigail's parents escorted her from the office.

Abigail's father grabbed her backpack her mother grabbed her arm and led her from the office not even bothering to look down at her. They walked to the parking lot. Abigail got in to the backseat with her backpack sitting next to her. The car started up. Her parents remained silent.

"I didn't do it!" She yelled in desperation.

Her mother turned back to her. "We know."

"So why are you doing this?"

"Just covering up what really happened." Her father chuckled. "We'll talk about it after we get some ice cream."

"Okay, what's going on?" Abigail looked at her parents who were both smiling.

"We'll tell you later. When Uncle Jack comes over for dinner." Her father told her.

"And Aunt Helen and Uncle Steve." Her mother chimed in.

They arrived in a parking lot. Abigail's parents bought her a large ice cream cone with two scoops of vanilla. They finished their ice cream and drove home. Abigail waited patiently until dinner was ready, and her relatives arrived.

They all sat at the table smiling and staring at Abigail. Her mother sat down the last plate and took her seat. "Now, before we eat, we have an announcement. Abigail, you're a witch."

"Hell yes!" Uncle Jack jumped up from his seat hugging Abigail.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Her aunt and uncle exclaimed in unison.

"So, how did we find out?" her uncle put his hands under his chin eager to listen.

"She got mad at her teacher and one of her drawings appeared on the projector screen."

"What a presentation." Her aunt chuckled. "Acceptance letters should be coming in the mail in a few weeks. When the supplies list comes, I'll be more than happy to take her shopping."

"Wait, can we slow down?" Abigail interrupted. "What do you mean by witch? And what acceptance letter?"

"Witch, like this." Her uncle reached in to his pocket and produced a slender stick that he waved at a plate of chicken legs. They magically stood up and danced around the table before landing on each of their plates.

"Wait, I can do that?" Abigail asked looking at her uncle.

"With some practice."

"And proper schooling." Her other uncle added.

"Yes, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You'll be going to school there next term." Her aunt smiled.

"What about everything here? What about secondary school?"

"Abigail, this is school. It's an experience that will be unlike any other." Her mother explained to her with tears forming in her eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

"Are you wizards and witches too?" She asked her parents.

"No, are wizarding lineage is one of half bloods. We come from families with some magic in our blood, but typically we don't have it." Her father explained,

"Look, dear, I know that this is a lot to take in. I passed out when I got my acceptance letter, and I had no one to explain all of this to me. Don't worry too much about it right now. Just finish out this term, and once you get your acceptance letter, we can go have a shopping spree."

Abigail nodded her head finally calming down.

"Let's eat." Her uncle Jack pulled out his wand and waved it making the food levitate on to their plates.

In the next few weeks, the school term finished out without much incident. A letter arrived in the mail during those weeks. The wax seal was unmistakable as her mother examined the letter and ran in to the house to her daughter's room. "You've been accepted." She smiled excitedly thrusting the letter in to her hands. "Open it."

Abigail opened the envelope and read it.

 _Dear Ms. Richards,_

 _We are sending this letter to inform you that we have a place for you at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Attached you will find a list of necessary supplies and books. We look forward to seeing you on July 31_ _st_ _for the start of the new school year._

 _Best wishes,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Headmistress_

"Congratulations! Aunt Helen should be coming by this weekend to take you out shopping." She left the room leaving Abigail there.

She sat by her computer and began sketching on her tablet. "This is so weird."

The weekend finally came. Abigail's aunt, Helen took her to London and through a shady bar that led to a brick wall in the back. She tapped it a few times until it moved revealing a cobblestone path that had several shops lining the sides of it.

"Okay, Abigail, this is Diagon Alley. Anything you need, you can get it here. Now, I told your mother that I have everything taken care of. First, we should get you fit for your robes." She smiled holding the list in her hand and leading Abigail off to Madam Malkin's robe shop. She was fit for her robes rather quickly before her aunt carted her off to the next store, Ollivander's Wands.

An older man stood at the counter going through the shelves. He stopped when he heard the bell ring. "Oh, good, customers. A new witch I presume." He chuckled. Abigail nodded her head. "Allow me to be your wand guide." He took a glance at her and quickly ran off to the shelves returning with several boxes on a cart. One of them released a small bit of sparks from it. "Oh, an eager one. Very well." He chuckled grabbing the box. "Vine, nine inches, dragon heartstring. Give it a flick." He placed the wand in Abigail's hand. Abigail held the wand in her hand and waved it at a shelf watching several boxes fall from it. "Not right." He sighed taking the wand from her and returning to the boxes. "Ah, this one should work." He grabbed a box and handed Abigail the wand inside. "Cedar, ten inches, unicorn hair." Abigail gave the wand a flick and watched as sparks flew from it. "Marvelous choice." He smiled at Abigail who smiled back with the wand in her hand.

Helen followed him to the counter where she paid for the wand. They walked out of the store and to Flourish and Blotts where they purchased Abigail's books. They then went to buy her a cauldron along with her potion ingredients. Finally, they picked up her robes and headed home. "Abby, it's very important that you don't go practicing your magic until you're at school. If you do it here, you could be in very serious trouble."

"Got it." She said putting the wand back in its box before they arrived home.

"There's also the sorting. It's nothing to freak out about, but it will impact your time there. There are four houses and each one is unique. The Gryffindors are courageous, the Slytherins are resourceful, the Ravenclaws are clever, and the Hufflepuffs are nice and very loyal. I know that you are going to ask about my house, but we aren't going to talk about it. My experiences shouldn't cloud your views and the experiences you are going to have." They unloaded everything from the car and brought it inside. "You'll be leaving in a few weeks. Your parents are taking you to the train station."

"Thank you Aunt Helen." Abigail hugged her aunt and said goodbye before running back up to her room to examine her new books and robes. "I wonder what house I'll be put in to."

…

It was a rush running through the solid brick platform with all of her things. Abigail was shocked to see that there was another train past the brick wall. People with trunks like hers were being loaded on to the train. Parents were saying goodbye to their children who waved from the train windows. "Have fun, be safe, and don't get in too much trouble." Her parents both hugged her tightly before letting her go on to the train. Abigail found a seat and grabbed her sketchbook; she grabbed her pens and flipped to a blank page. She heard the train start and felt a slight jolt as it started to move. She looked out the window and waved to her parents before returning to her sketchbook.

The train ride was uneventful until the snack cart came around. She pulled some money from her pocket and sampled licorice wands, chocolate frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and several other candies that she had never experienced.

Eventually the train arrived to the school. The first year students were escorted to the boats while the upperclassmen were escorted to the carriages. Abigail sat in her boat, which continued to move toward the castle in the distance.

Once inside, a woman wearing beige robes looked at them all while she guarded the door. "Okay, we're going to go inside now. You will sit with your house once you have been sorted. Get ready." She smiled pushing the doors open. She walked forward with the first years following shyly behind her. Upperclassmen waved and cheered as they walked to the front of the Great Hall. Candles floated above the tables as a sky setting made up the ceiling. At the front stood a long table where several of the professors were sitting and talking amongst themselves.

"Settle down." A woman wearing emerald green robes said putting her hand to the cheering tables. "I am Professor McGonagall for those of you who do not know, and the headmistress of this school. This is a very important moment in all young wizards' lives. Your housing will be decided right here. Your house is a reflection of you. And with that, let us begin." She picked up an old looking brown hat and walked to the center of the room by a stool. She held up a scroll of parchment and let it unravel until it touched the floor and kept moving a little bit behind her. "Sean Ason." A tall boy with a confident smile on his face walked forward. Professor McGonagall placed the brown hat on his head.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted earning several cheers from one of the tables. Sean ran over and took his seat with his house.

Names continued to be called. "Jared Benard."

The hat was placed on his head. "Slytherin!"

Names continued to be called until she stopped on Abigail's. "Abigail Richards." She called out to the first years who had not yet been sorted.

Abigail stepped forward. She had watched people get placed in to Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. All of the houses seemed to welcome them with open arms and cheers. She was nervous as she walked over to the stool. She felt like her heart was going to rip through her chest. She sat down and watched as the hat was placed on top of her head. It was mumbling things to itself. It finally perked up and shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

Abigail had the hat removed from her head and joined the cheering table which beckoned her over as she took a seat.

Professor McGonagall finished sorting all of the other students and stood at the center of the stage. "This year, serious changes will be present. First, our beloved Argus Filch has retired." Several students turned to each other and smiled hearing the good news. "Hush." Professor McGonagall called out. "I have not finished. We have also been working tirelessly with the ministry on a certain issue, and we have finally come up with a solution. This year, Hogwarts shall come out of the dark ages as we bring forth internet." The whole hall burst in to murmurs and cheers with those words. "Hush!" She shouted once more. "As I said, we will be bringing internet to the school. However, your devices will have to be registered with our new caretaker and technology specialist, Damian Filch, our beloved Argus's nephew and replacement." A man with short jet-black hair and a tablet strapped to his arm walked out on to the stage with a Persian cat following closely behind him. "He will enchant your technology to prevent magical interference and link you with your house's network. Keep in mind though that several professors including myself will not be using technology in our classrooms. Also, the ministry will be monitoring all social media and communications. They have also set up private domains for some social media. I will let Damian fill you in."

Damian walked to the center of the stage and looked at all of the students. "The network passwords will be distributed to your prefects and given to you. Our social media network is Wand and will only be able to be accessed by witches and wizards. It involved a lot of enchantments to get it to work. Next, try not to wreck the school, I have to clean it up." He pulled his wand from his pocket. "Bandwith!" He shouted causing a reception bar to appear above him and float up to the ceiling and vanish. "I'll turn things back over to the headmistress." He walked off with his cat following him.

Abigail hears several side conversations. "Argus is gone, this is going to be great."

"Let's not hassle the new guy. We don't want another Argus."

"Fair."

"Hey what's a prefect?" Abigail asked interrupting their conversation.

"I am." A girl with dirty blonde hair that came down to her shoulders looked at Abigail. She pointed to her badge which read _Prefect._ "We make sure that no one gets hurt and that everyone behaves. We also help the lower years wherever we can."

Professor McGonagall resumed her place on the stage. "Let's sing our beloved Hogwarts song." She pulled out her wand and waved it making words hover in the air as the students began to sing.

 _Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,  
Teach us something please,  
Whether we be old and bald,  
Or young with scabby knees,  
Our heads could do with filling,  
With some interesting stuff,  
For now they're bare and full of air,  
Dead flies and bits of fluff,  
So teach us things worth knowing,  
Bring back what we've forgot,  
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,  
And learn until our brains all rot._

Professor McGonagall hummed along with the students as she conducted. Once the song was over, she waved her wand. "Now, we eat."

Empty plates on the table immediately filled with food ranging from chicken tenders to fish to steak to shepherd's pie. Abigail began putting food on her plate and eating. Everything was delicious. After a little while, she watched some of the food start to turn to dessert which prompted her to fill her plate with ice cream.

After dinner, the students began to leave for their houses. "First years with me." The girl with dirty blonde hair ordered as a group of Ravenclaw students surrounded her. "Stay close, the stairs like to move. I'm going to take us back to our house so that you can get settled in." She began to walk while Abigail and several other first year students followed her around the school and up a small staircase.

While they walked, Abigail noticed that the paintings moved. "How do they do that?" She asked pointing to a wizard who was dueling someone else.

"They're doused with a special potion. Once you get acquainted with some of the stuff, you should be able to brew it." The prefect explained as they continued walking.

They stopped when they reached a door with a brass eagle knocker. "You knock it and answer the riddle. If you get it wrong, you wait for someone to get it right." The girl used the knocker.

 _A butcher is five feet and nine inches tall. What does he weigh?_

"Any volunteers?" The prefect asked. She turned to Abigail. "You answer it."

Abigail nervously approached the knocker. She did not want to mess it up. She repeated the riddle to herself. "Um, meat." She said hoping to have gotten it right.

 _Consider that the easy riddle._ The door swung open as the students filed inside.

"Dorms are upstairs. Your stuff should already be there." The prefect walked away leaving the first years to themselves.

Abigail watched a group of boys levitate large computers up the stairs to their rooms. "Careful, this build is four thousand!" One of them shouted.

Abigail watched Damian walking around enchanting computers and devices for the students. "Abigail, your devices are all registered. Your uncle had them sent here express." Damian walked off to help other students before moving on to the next house.

Abigail walked up to her room and grabbed her laptop which was sitting on one of the beds along with her trunk. She opened it up and opened the video chat application. She called her uncle who picked up immediately. "What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw." Abigail said pointing to her robes which now had a pin on them.

"That's great." He smiled. "I'm just glad you're not a Hufflepuff."

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?"

"Nothing, they're very nice. Let's just change the subject. Classes are tomorrow. Are you excited?"

"Yeah, kind of." Abigail said smiling shyly.

"Okay, well I'm going to let you go. I'm sure that you want to get acquainted with your new roommates, get unpacked, and get some sleep. Love you."

"You too." Abigail smiled ending the call and closing her laptop. She started to unpack moving her trunk to the edge of her bed and putting her clothes in the wardrobe next to her bed. She opened up the bottom drawer which appeared to be two drawers and put some of her clothes inside. She looked over to the girl next to her; her drawer seemed to have more room.

Abigail brushed off the thought as the girl walked over. "Hi, I'm Alice." She brushed back her fiery orange hair extending her hand to Abigail who shook it.

"I'm Abigail." She said smiling.

"Well it's nice to meet you. Hopefully we'll have a few classes together. It wouldn't hurt to have a classmate living so close by." She winked at Abigail before her blue eyes returned to her trunk. Abigail's blue eyes did the same. She gave one more look to the dresser before continuing with the rest of her unpacking.

Later that night, Abigail woke up rubbing her eyes as she grabbed her wand. _Lumos._ She recited the spell that one of the prefects had taught her earlier that night. She opened up the drawer in her wardrobe and began pulling out all of her clothes until the drawer was emptied. She looked around briefly before wandering down the stairs to the common room with her wand in her mouth and the large drawer in her hands.

The common room was empty as everyone else had already gone to bed. She watched the light on her wand fade as she set the drawer down on one of the tables. She knocked on the bottom hearing a distinct, hollow sound. Abigail looked around once more before trying to lift up the bottom of the drawer. She found and edge that gave her a little leverage as she pulled it out and set it aside.

She looked inside the now revealed hollow bottom of the drawer. She first picked up a large potion flask with a blue liquid inside of it. There was a little note scribbled on the side. _Wolfsbane._ Abigail continued going through the items. There was a picture of eight students all of them smiling together with their arms around each other's shoulders. They all seemed to be talking together as they looked around the room they were in. The students also appeared to be from varying houses and class years. She set it down. She then picked up a small, leather bound book with silver lettering that read _Maria._

A picture fell out of the book. It showed a Ravenclaw girl hugging a Slytherin boy who looked to be a bit embarrassed as he gave a shy smile. "Maria?" Abigail thought to herself looking at the picture as she watched the girl tussle the boy's hair. Abigail set the picture down and continued going through the drawer pulling out several unusual books as well as a small box containing several potion ingredients.

Lastly, she pulled out a flat, rectangular, brown package. There was a bit of twine with a small scrap of paper attached to it. _Wake him gently._ Abigail read to herself tossing the note aside as she removed the twine and started tearing at the brown paper.

Underneath the paper, Abigail saw a painting; it looked like a library. There was a boy sitting at a desk reading with a large stack of books next to him. "Hey." Abigail said startling the boy. "Sorry." She said watching the boy stand up.

"When is it?" He asked looking at her.

"Two-thousand-sixteen." Abigail said watching the boy in the picture sigh. "What's wrong?"

"She didn't come back for me."

"Maria?" Abigail asked. The boy nodded his head. "Did she paint you?"

"She painted the setting. She trapped me in here saying I would be safe while she fought Voldemort."

"Why do you have an American accent?" She asked changing the subject.

"I was an exchange student. The American school doesn't stack up with Hogwarts, so my parents sent me here. Of course they didn't want me going alone, so Maria came with me."

"Is she also American." The boy nodded his head. "What's your name?"

"Aaron, yours?"

"Abigail, so how do you get out of the painting?"

"Dark magic. Maria should have marked the pages in those books you found. Of course you're nowhere near strong enough to cast those spells. You're probably a first year. Maria casted them when she was a second year, but she had a lot of help."

"From these people?" Abigail held up the picture.

"Yeah."

"So was it a club or something?"

"That's what we called it. It was really our resistance group against Voldemort."

"Are you going to tell me about it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Someone's coming." Abigail quickly looked around and saw a light coming down the stairs. She quickly packed everything back in to the drawer and covered it up except for Aaron who she held tightly as she ran back to her room.

"Goodnight." Aaron said as he watched Abigail pack everything back into her drawers and crawl into bed.

"You better tell me more about that club of yours." She looked at the small painting which was propped up on her nightstand.

"Not for a while." He sat down in his chair and started to read one of his books. Abigail sighed and decided to hold off as she went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry for the short chapter. There is more coming. I promise.**

Abigail woke up from her sleep to an alarm clock ringing. She hit it hearing the noise stop. She rubbed her eyes looking over to the painting on her nightstand. "Morning." Aaron said stretching out from his chair.

"Morning." Abigail said standing up, as did some of the other girls who were getting ready for the day. She opened her wardrobe and then looked at Aaron. She set the picture facedown feeling paranoid about him seeing her undress. "I'll pick you up when I'm done getting ready." Abigail finished up her morning routine putting on her robes before lifting up the picture. "I'm going to get some breakfast before class." She put the picture in her pocket and grabbed her bag before heading out of the hall.

Abigail walked into the grand hall and took a seat at her table. She pulled out the picture and began piling food on her plate. "That's a little rude." Aaron said looking at her.

"Sorry. I guess you don't get to eat that much."

"I haven't eaten in years."

"I can put you facedown again."

"Just leave me up." Aaron stood up and began pacing around. "So, what class do you have first?"

"Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall." Abigail said taking a bite of a sausage link.

"I did well in that class. I still study it." Aaron produced a wand from within his robes and turned one of the books on the table into a kitten. He stroked its fur calmly.

"That's really cool!" Abigail said excitedly. "How did you do that without saying anything?"

"Practice." Aaron said turning the kitten back into a book. "Finish eating so you can get to class."

"I'm almost finished." She said taking a sip from a goblet of orange juice.

…

Abigail walked into the classroom and pulled out a sheet of parchment along with a quill. She looked at Aaron's picture under her desk. Aaron was looking around the room. "What do you see?" She asked in a whisper looking at him.

"Stay away from that boy." Aaron directed her attention to a black-haired Ravenclaw boy.

"What's wrong with him?" Abigail asked remaining quiet.

"His wand is silver lime. It means he's either a seer or a Legilimens. Either way, I don't like it."

"Legilimens?" Abigail asked confused about the term.

"Legilimens can read your thoughts and feelings. Seers can peer into the future and see channels of possibilities. Just don't let him sit here."

Abigail quickly put the picture in her pocket as the boy walked over. "Why don't you want me sitting here?" He asked sighing a little.

"It's not me it's…"

"Aaron, who's that? A boy trapped in a painting. How peculiar." His voice was calm, somewhat plain, almost uninterested; he might have been depressed.

"Students take your seats." Professor McGonagall stepped into the room and walked to the front.

The boy sat next to her. "By the way, I'm Eric, Eric Fent. I could tell that you were curious." He extended his hand to Abigail who shook it nervously.

"Abigail Richards."

"I know. Sorry." He put a hand to his head rubbing it looking a bit down.

Professor McGonagall began her lesson introducing herself and briefly going over the course before beginning the lesson. "Textbooks open to chapter one. You will never be able to cast advanced magic without basic wand exercises." She watched the students pull out their wands and begin following her as she moved her wand in a series of motions. "Very nice Mr. Dend. Everyone keeping up?" She jolted to the right while all of the students jolted to the left following her. The picture in Abigail's pocket flew out landing in the aisle.

"Oh!" Abigail paused walking into the aisle and retrieving the picture.

Professor McGonagall paused her lesson and looked over at Abigail. "Ms. Richards, what is that in your hand?"

"Nothing." She said trying to put the picture back into her pocket.

"Well if it's so important that you had to interrupt my lesson to retrieve it, you won't mind if I hold it for you until the end of the lesson. Come here. I will return it until the end of class." Abigail looked down to see Aaron crossing his arms as she walked down the aisle to the front of the room. Professor McGonagall took the picture from her and looked at it closely. Aaron looked back at her and waved. "On second thought, I would like to have a word with you after class." She tucked the picture into her pocket while Abigail returned to her seat and resumed the lesson.

…

Abigail finished putting her books in her bag as the lesson ended. She walked up front where Professor McGonagall was waiting. "Ms. Richards, I am aware that you have classes now. I want you to come to my office when you are finished. It is in the gargoyle corridor. The password is Tabby. I will be holding on to your friend until then."

"But."

"No buts. Go to your next class." Abigail walked off nervously wondering Aaron's fate. "You and I will be having a conversation after this class." Professor McGonagall glared at the boy in the painting who nodded his head.

…

Professor McGonagall sat in her office chair. She pulled back the support on the frame so that the picture stood alone on her desk. "It's been a while Mr. Parker. Honestly, I thought you were lost during the battle."

"Maria hid me by trapping me in this painting."

"You two always did have an unusual relationship. However, it is nice to see that you have been found."

"I want to contact my parents." Aaron said sternly.

Professor McGonagall paced around a bit nervously before she returned to Aaron clasping her hands together. "Aaron…your parents…when Voldemort could not find you, he sent Death Eaters to the United States. They killed yours and Maria's parents." Professor McGonagall sighed bowing her head. "Your friends that he captured refused to tell anything. They were very loyal to you."

"I have to thank you for putting up with everything that I did." Aaron paced around the room that he was trapped in.

"I respected your plan. It was very clever, resourceful, and you brought together students of all houses who might not have fought Voldemort otherwise. The Wolfsbane Club was one of the school's greatest unspoken clubs. Purposefully creating werewolves to combat the Death Eaters." She smiled at the thought.

"Maria never let me become one."

"That does not matter. You were the organizer who had the plan and brought all those people together. You played a vital role in the group."

"Is there anything left of the group?"

"Perhaps your meeting room. You kids did an excellent job of securing it. The Carrows could not get in during that time they ruled the school I don't even think that they found it. However, Voldemort and the other Death Eaters publicly executed your friends who were captured. They definitely did not like you."

Aaron let out a sigh. "I've definitely had some time to study in here. I was trying to distract myself from having to hear that."

"I know that it's hard to hear. Though, with your studies, you should be able to advance a bit when we get you out of there."

"About that…"

"Yes?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"I want Abigail to free me." Aaron said looking at her with his mind made up.

"Are you sure? That could be a while."

"I'm okay waiting a bit longer, but I want you and the other professors to help prepare her."

"That should be no problem. Is there anything else?" She asked.

"Don't tell her about any of the Wolfsbane stuff. I'll tell her when I'm ready."

"Very well. I can keep a secret, like the times I saw Maria walking back to her dorm with a fox." Professor McGonagall glared at Aaron who rubbed the back of his head. "On the subject of that, there are a few favors I would like from you."

"Of course. I owe you something for everything that you have done for me."

"For starters, when you leave that painting, I want you to become registered as an Animagus."

"It's a bit late for that. I don't want to go to Azkaban."

"I will make sure that you do not go to Azkaban. If I must, I will go to the ministry myself and explain the circumstances on why you were not registered previously."

"Is there anything else?" Aaron asked.

"I don't want you teaching Ms. Richards any dark magic…"

"Dark can just mean misunderstood." Aaron interrupted.

"That does not matter. It is for her safety. That also goes for any spells that you made. I'm sure that you've had some time to make some new ones." Aaron nodded his head. Professor McGonagall rubbed her head. "It's a wonder that they did not kill you."

"My friends protected me."

"I am also hoping that you help Ms. Richards with her studies."

"That won't be a problem. Anything else?"

"If you ever need something please have her bring you to me." Aaron nodded his head.

 _A while later_ …

"Come in." Professor McGonagall said hearing a knock on the door to her office.

"Professor McGonagall?" Abigail asked walking inside.

"Hello dear. I had a conversation with Aaron. Here he is." She handed Abigail the picture. "Keep him safe. He is trusting you to free him from that picture."

"Thank you." Abigail said looking at Aaron who nodded his head.

"And I am sure that he can help you with your studies. He was quite the gifted student, and he still is. That is all."

"Thank you, professor." Abigail left the office looking at Aaron. "What did you talk about?"

"We were just catching up. Nothing for you to worry about." Abigail gave Aaron a look before putting him in her pocket. "Any homework?"

"Nothing for tonight. It's almost time to go to dinner though." Abigail said walking down one the corridors. She continued walking seeming to know where she was going. Eric was waiting at the end of one of the corridors.

"He won't tell you anything." Eric said looking at Abigail.

"Aaron, say hi to Eric Fent." Abigail pulled the picture from her pocket and handed it to him.

"Hello." Eric said examining the boy. "I can't read paintings."

"You couldn't read me if I was out of here. I'm a practiced Occlumens. So how are you a Legilimens this young?"

"My parents are both Legilimens. The skill comes naturally to me, sometimes like a curse." Eric handed the picture back to Abigail. "Maybe I could teach you Legilimency some time."

"That sounds fun." Abigail said walking with Eric to the grand hall. They walked to their table and sat next to each other.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Alice asked walking over to their place at the table.

"I'm okay with it." Eric said.

"It's fine. We're roommates anyway." Abigail smiled as she sat across from them.

"Herbology and charms sound fun." Alice said as Professor McGonagall waved her hands allowing the students to begin eating.

"Learning to ride a broomstick should be interesting." Eric said taking a sip from a goblet. "Perhaps Aaron would be able to tell us something." He turned to Abigail. "She will find out eventually. You might as well show her now."

"Um." Abigail paused reaching into her pocket and looking down at Aaron who reluctantly nodded his head. "Alice, I want you to meet Aaron." Abigail set the picture on the table.

"Hey." Aaron said.

"Ooh, an American accent. Now I'm interested." Alice smiled looking at Aaron.

"Well…Aaron is…was an American exchange student. His friend kind of trapped him in this picture when Voldemort attacked. That's all he's told me."

"And it's all you need to know." Aaron said pulling a book from his shelf beginning to read.

"And that he wants Abigail to free him from the painting." Eric chimed in.

"Hey, Legilimens, shut up." Aaron rubbed his head. "I really need to teach you Occlumency, so he'll stop reading your thoughts."

"Sorry." Eric said taking another sip from his goblet.

"Alice, would you mind showing me your wand?" Aaron asked looking up from his book.

"Why do you want to?" Alice asked in between bites of food.

"He's able to tell stuff about a person based on their wand." Abigail told her.

"Okay, here it is." Alice pulled her wand from her robes and laid it in front of Aaron who stood up from his chair to examine it.

"Hazel, very nice."

"What does it say?" Alice asked curious.

"You are emotionally in control, and I have no doubt in my mind that with proper training, you will be very powerful. With enough practice, you could be a skilled Occlumens."

Alice smiled putting her wand in her pocket. "So, what can you tell us about flying a broomstick?"

"Be calm and confident. Your broomstick senses your emotion and will reflect in its stability."

"Herbology?" Eric asked picking at his food.

"Wear your safety gear and follow instructions." The group continued to talk for a bit longer until dessert was finished and they returned to their dorm. Eric used the knocker.

 _Follow my words. Where am I going with this question?_

"I can not follow only listen." Eric said calmly.

 _Well said._

The door opened letting the group inside. They split off going about their nightly activities. Abigail pulled the picture from her pocket and looked at Aaron briefly before setting the picture on her nightstand. "So, who are your professors?"

"Hooch for flying, Longbottom for herbology, Flitwick for charms, Sarmen for defense against the dark arts. He's Middle Eastern, and he's so relaxed and cool."

"Don't show me to him. I never got along with defense against the dark arts professors. Who else is there?"

"You know Professor McGonagall. There's Professor Kline for potions, and that's about it. Kline seems nice. He also seems to be showing some favoritism to his students."

"It's not uncommon for that in this school. Just go do whatever you do." Aaron seemed to be growing a bit irritable as he sat down in one of his chairs. Abigail sighed walking over to her computer and grabbing her tablet beginning to draw an outline.


End file.
